Time to hire security help

As we read about a couple of service stations in the Saint Louis, Mo., area having their pumps reprogrammed to provide free gasoline, it occurred to us that perhaps the solution to the rampant theft of such things (copper wiring and air-conditioner units are also on the top of the thieves' shopping list these days) might be an old idea.

Hire more help, principally with security.

But do a better job of screening the new hires than you did with the old ones who obviously leaked gasoline pump keys and codes to evil-doers.

Many businesses have a problem with shop-lifting. Most people have no idea how few security safeguards exist. Again, the solution is to put human bodies - not cameras - in the aisles, particularly if they are trained and plain-clothed and in communication with other security people.

Rip-offs are not supposed to be a cost of doing business, and the Amoral Corporate Code that let us get into this mess (some bean-counter somewhere decided it would be cheaper to factor in the price of theft rather than prevent it with paid help) is part of the reason for the American decline in values.

But then, that's just our opinion. We've been severely ticked off with corporate America ever since gasoline service stations went from full-service (with jobs) to no-service (and many fewer jobs, especially for teens).